Beckett

[brian045]

You have to pay to trade/sell now on beckett? Havnt been over there since they changed everything years ago

[penguinsChief]

I had talked to a local LCS about this a while back and the reason that you don't see Beckett on the newsstand anymore is that they changed their return policy. Before if you did not sell a copy, you tore off the cover and got a credit. Now as an LCS you buy it you keep it no refunds. So bigger stores carry less so as to not take the hit and sell through and the smaller stores just don't bother.

I had the online subscription for the past year and let it run out. To be honest I was not using it enough anymore for it to be worth it, trading is down so no real need for the up to date pricing. I just bought a copy of the December issue, so I had it just in case, otherwise I can do without. AS we all know, trading is a negotiation anyhow, and Beckett has always been a starting point.

[Sharky94]

When negotiating a trade, I just look to see what each card is selling for on EBay and propose a trade based on real worth rather than what Beckett claims a card is worth -- I just don't quote values. If two cards are each selling for $20, then offering one for the other shouldn't be an "insult" to anyone.

You will sometimes see people that are so dependent on Beckett that they claim they only trade by "Book Value". Well, if Beckett claims their $20 card is worth $200, and your $20 card is worth $100, then obviously Beckett has no idea what they are talking about. After all, a Toews card #/50 is worth a lot more than a David Clarkson card #/5, but Beckett gets hung up on PRs way too much. If someone doesn't want to trade his $20 card because it is "worth" more than your $20 card, you probably don't want to trade with them anyway because those are the people you have problems with when trying to trade, and it probably wont be a pleasant experience. I've had guys turn down trade offers of 5 cards for 5 cards because his "booked" for $60 and mine only booked for $55!

Remember, a card's "true" value is only the amount of heat it will give off if you burn it. No matter what Beckett says its worth, its only worth what someone is willing to give you for it.

At the last Toronto show, I was trying to trade with a dealer for an Olie Kolzig card with a nameplate letter on it (#/6). I wanted it to use to make a custom nameplate for my wife, who is a HUGE Kolzig fan. The dealer said he wouldn't take less than $200 cash because it booked for $300. (Three other dealers there said it was worth $100 tops, and then only if you found a real Kolzig fan -- which are few and far between these days and disappearing each day.) Even though my wife said not to offer more than $50, I went up to $100. I also offered my Canadiens SOTT-4 all-rookie auto card #/10 for a trade of the Kolzig and a Hertl card, and he wouldn't do it. He said that his card (which he had in a box behind his display, so he didn't even feel it was important enough to have on display) was "worth" far more. I asked him if he actually thought someone would eventually come by and ask him if he had a $200 card of a non-HOF goalie that had been retired for five years, or if he would rather have a four-auto card of four MON rookies. But my argument fell on deaf (and dumb) ears. I guess I will just have to wait until he dies, and his kid puts it up on EBay, where I will get it for $30. But in the meantime, he is going to keep carting around that card to every show he goes to, wondering why nobody is willing to pay him $200 for it, because obviously its "worth" $300...

[warr10r]

Sharky, I agree with you but most trades are done using BVs. Whenever I sell on eBay, I look at recent sales. I also find it a little annoying when an offer is turned down due to a small difference in BVs but that's the nature of barter trading.

As for dealers at shows, a lot of them try to charge ridiculous prices for cards. I understand there's costs associated with renting a booth but doesn't justify some of the atrocious markups.

Thank you to everyone who's replied to my questions. I checked out a few more walmarts and news stands in recent days with no success. Might get a subscription through the iTunes store in lieu of the magazine and online Beckett.

[warr10r]

Penguinschief, thanks for the heads up. Now I know why mine stopped carrying it. I guess Beckett wants to focus more on their digital sales and scrap the printing presses

[RGM81]

When negotiating a trade, I just look to see what each card is selling for on EBay and propose a trade based on real worth rather than what Beckett claims a card is worth -- I just don't quote values. If two cards are each selling for $20, then offering one for the other shouldn't be an "insult" to anyone.

You will sometimes see people that are so dependent on Beckett that they claim they only trade by "Book Value". Well, if Beckett claims their $20 card is worth $200, and your $20 card is worth $100, then obviously Beckett has no idea what they are talking about. After all, a Toews card #/50 is worth a lot more than a David Clarkson card #/5, but Beckett gets hung up on PRs way too much. If someone doesn't want to trade his $20 card because it is "worth" more than your $20 card, you probably don't want to trade with them anyway because those are the people you have problems with when trying to trade, and it probably wont be a pleasant experience. I've had guys turn down trade offers of 5 cards for 5 cards because his "booked" for $60 and mine only booked for $55!

Remember, a card's "true" value is only the amount of heat it will give off if you burn it. No matter what Beckett says its worth, its only worth what someone is willing to give you for it.

At the last Toronto show, I was trying to trade with a dealer for an Olie Kolzig card with a nameplate letter on it (#/6). I wanted it to use to make a custom nameplate for my wife, who is a HUGE Kolzig fan. The dealer said he wouldn't take less than $200 cash because it booked for $300. (Three other dealers there said it was worth $100 tops, and then only if you found a real Kolzig fan -- which are few and far between these days and disappearing each day.) Even though my wife said not to offer more than $50, I went up to $100. I also offered my Canadiens SOTT-4 all-rookie auto card #/10 for a trade of the Kolzig and a Hertl card, and he wouldn't do it. He said that his card (which he had in a box behind his display, so he didn't even feel it was important enough to have on display) was "worth" far more. I asked him if he actually thought someone would eventually come by and ask him if he had a $200 card of a non-HOF goalie that had been retired for five years, or if he would rather have a four-auto card of four MON rookies. But my argument fell on deaf (and dumb) ears. I guess I will just have to wait until he dies, and his kid puts it up on EBay, where I will get it for $30. But in the meantime, he is going to keep carting around that card to every show he goes to, wondering why nobody is willing to pay him $200 for it, because obviously its "worth" $300...

Stellar post.

Brutal story about the dude at the card show.

I've had a similar experience with a guy who has a Gorges Prime Letter. Dude wants a figure with an extra zero in it. There's no shaking some people's reality tree.

[Rraincock]

My only use for Beckett these days is for checklist purposes... and even that is getting dodgy of recent.

[capt55]

Becket online is abit of a joke, the 2 don't match sometimes, I was doing a trade on here with someone, I was told that the card I was getting trade was booking at 250.00 online and he showed me, when the hard copy came out the card booked at 125.00, I had already made the deal.

[piper1]

Becket online is abit of a joke, the 2 don't match sometimes, I was doing a trade on here with someone, I was told that the card I was getting trade was booking at 250.00 online and he showed me, when the hard copy came out the card booked at 125.00, I had already made the deal.

I use the OPG and was told of this issue by a dealer at the Ottawa show when I questioned some of his pricing. Beckett needs to get their act together regarding their BV discrepancies. Not only does it reflect poorly on them as a business, it can lead to hard feelings between SCF members who use different references for a trade.